Elder Trip-The Beginnings. Feb 25/26

Bon Jou!

Our Monday travels were a success! Eight of us arrived together and we picked up our two stragglers later! This night was all about preparation and team introductions as half our team is returning from last year and we have five new goers who joined us.

Tuesday we hit the ground running. Stuffed with fresh mango and hearty French toast we lathered up sunscreen, took a quick team picture, and we hit the road to Titanyen. Titanyen is the small city in which we will be doing the majority, but not all of our ministry. Here we have an established elder program with 35 elders who receive care from Healing Haiti and later in the week we will visit Cité Soleil where our elder program is expanding.

This mission trip is unique in that it’s designed to focus solely on the elders in a medical capacity. They currently receive visits from other teams throughout the year, however on this trip we do medical assessments to determine needs and how we can serve them best. Our team is comprised of nurses, pre-med students, social workers, physical/occupational therapists, and wonderful volunteers who are willing to fill in the gaps.

Yesterday (Tuesday) we broke into 2 teams and made visits to elders in their homes. This is a unique opportunity to meet them where they are at. It gives us a glimpse into their daily life and helps show us needs they made have. Sometimes the elders don’t even recognize their own needs due to the fact that they are used to the limited resources. An example of this in the US would be housing modifications for elders with limited mobility. Grab bars, smaller steps, commodes, tall toilets, etc. Our team watched and assessed as our elders navigated around their home. If you can picture it, the areas outside and around the home are not paved and they spend most of their time there due to the heat in their homes. The ground is filled with rocks and unsmooth terrain. This would be hard for anybody, let alone our elders with strokes and less mobility. Through our assessments we can provide resources such as above mentioned that can improve quality of life.

The rest of our week will look differently each day, but for now we feel success and confidence in what took place on our first day of home visits. Our team has felt extremely safe and we are thankful for this provision. Our Haitian translators are familiar faces as they worked with us last year. They make the language barrier feel very small and our protection very abundant.

We thank you for your continued prayers and support.

Gratefully,

The Elder Team.

Elder Trip- Fleri Fair- Feb 27

Greetings!

We are writing this with grateful hearts as we have completed our second day and it was a huge success. There are no words to express how blown away we are by the work that only our God could do.

Today we had a health fair at Fleri Bakery where we invited members of the elder program to come enjoy fresh baked pastries from the bakery where we spent the day doing a variety of things that we cannot do sometimes at all or as easily at home assessments. These things included creating cards, having their hands/feet washed, lotioned, nails clipped, etc. They also received medical assessments if they were not seen yesterday. Friends, this was AMAZING! Here are just some of our many praises that we want to share with you:

1. An abundance in numbers:
We had a larger turnout than expected! One of our team member's, Brian, went with one of our drivers on our tap-tap (our large vehicle) and picked up elders, all day long! This allowed for more people to attend than last year. Praise God!

2. Connection without communication.
Our team-member, Lori, was able to connect with our elders WITHOUT an interpreter for most of the day and managed to work alongside them to create beautiful cards. She never went without a crowded table or without a smile on her face. Praise God for human connection!

3. An abundance of assessments:
Our clinical staff completed no less than 30 medical assessments! Assessments are lengthy!! To get an idea of what an assessment looks like, picture going to a doctor but having to explain your whole life, your medications, your problems, etc. without any help from a fancy electronic medical record.  Our goal is to assess for overall well-being...to name a few: vision, physical mobility, pain, living conditions, food intake, bowel and bladder issues, etc. The amount of questions we have is innumerable! And picture while trying to assess difficult problems such as medication management and you are going through an interpreter! Some of the words we use don't translate simply into Creole and this makes it even more difficult with our translators--who are phenomenal by the way. So to say that through the help of our interpreters we completed this many medical/physical assessments is an absolute miracle. Praise God!

4. Care through touch.
Our elders received nail care through hand and feet washing/applying lotion/nail clipping and painting nails for the women of course. Besides this being a helpful medical approach to keep hands/feet sanitary, it is something the elders (and ourselves) enjoy. The act of human touch with massage and cleaning is something that transcends countries. It is a humbling experience to attempt to scrub the years of dirt worn into skin and caked under nails. It is a moving experience to physically sit that close to someone who has likely not received this kind of connection before. And to do something that can be arduous and dirty while knowing that these nails will grow long and dirty again before we know it, is a pleasure to do. To serve just because Jesus asks is absolutely enough. He doesn't ask for clean nails for the rest of their lives, He's only asking for today. What a privilege.

The care for our elders continues as the majority of the team is still going over notes from the day and making plans for the future. The work never ends here in Haiti, and we are so grateful to serve in each and every moment.

Prayers for tomorrow as we do another day at Fleri, but this day with different intentions. We hope to have a day filled with worship through music and fellowship. Even though these elders live in the same tiny town of Titanyen, they can be isolated due to physical limitations and other obstacles as basic as ill-fitted shoes. To see their faces light up at spending time with one another is worth it's weight in gold. We look forward tomorrow with the hope and expectation that God will supercede our man-made plans.

We covet your prayers,

The Elder Team

Day 4 ~ Word of Life

We started our service of the day at CRS orphanage. We teamed up with another group to play with the kids here – with basketball, jump rope, coloring, beading, sidewalk chalk, ‘dance lessons by Paige’ and others. The kids seemed very well taken care of and well adjusted. The staff were so friendly and happy to have us. After we had played for a good long time the administrator gave us a tour of the home and it was, of course, very interesting to see the way they live. 

Then it was off to visit the elders in Titanyen.  We first stopped and bought their meals and drinks in a small restaurant, then took what felt like an ‘off road’ drive to the different homes in the area. We loved visiting them and showing God’s love through the human touch of washing their feet, trimming nails, hand, feet and neck massages, music, prayer, scripture and, in general, encouraging them in their faith.

After this we went to Healing Haiti’s Fleri Resto (Flourish Restaurant).  We enjoyed a great meal of 5 different types of pizzas, some typical Haitian dishes and other appetizers. We were then given a tour of the bakery by a very well spoken and prepared young man. He gave a lot of interesting facts about the growth of the work over the last several years and hints of what is coming in the future.  Another blessed day in Haiti!

Word of Life – Day 3

Today started off with the daily team breakfast, a quick pack up, and a short but sweet devotional. Then we headed out to Grace Village where we spent a large portion of our day. We had the pleasure of serving the women at Grace by putting on spa day and presenting a Bible lesson to the kids after a lottt of playing! The kids were full of energy as always. It was a day filled with lots of dancing and crafts. Our ladies really enjoyed pampering the family style home mothers at Grace and reflecting on how awesome it was to see these women embracing their beauty.

Today was a day where our team really started to come together. People are starting to get more comfortable and the ice is definitely breaking. We shared a lot of laughs and many interesting debates. The group dynamic is proving to create a super fun and encouraging environment. We have gotten to hear more in depth about each other’s stories and talk open and honestly about life and our experiences throughout the day. We have lots of great personalities within the group, including a lot of loving caretakers and insightful minds. Everyone seems to be really enjoying the company and fellowship not only with our singular team, but the 3 teams staying at the Guesthouse for the week.

The Haitian staff here is also proving to be a highlight for the week. The men and women are constantly making us laugh and so kindly letting us participate in their culture. It has been great to see the body of Christ as a greater whole here in Haiti.

After some restful time at the pool, we headed back down to the Guesthouse and on the way saw some of the street kids playing again. It was precious to see how they so quickly recognized us and lit up. My favorite memory from the day was that one of the young girls from the street remembered a little cheer we did yesterday chanting, “Jezi remen ou!” (Jesus loves you!) while throwing our hands into the air. She put her hand in the middle ready to do the chant before we left. It was awesome! Anytime one of the kids says the name of Jesus we smile😊. The team is looking forward to the rest of the week and all the adventures it will bring. God is always faithful and always working!

Word of Life - New Years' Day Celebration

Today was a beautiful day in Haiti! The temps were in the low 90's but the breezes were glorious and there was a spirit of celebration in the air.  Our sleep was a bit interrupted for most by some very loud and sudden booms and fireworks at midnight. We enjoyed a delicious breakfast of oatmeal, bananas, scrambled eggs with all the fixins’, pancakes, and freshly squeezed passionfruit/orange juice. Some of the girls wanted to experience and help our staff with washing clothes by hand. We then started to organize for our party for the great Haitian staff. We’ve also enjoyed being able to meet and work and play closely with the other 2 teams of ‘goers’.  The teams prepared for the Haitian staff a great meal of sloppy joes, potato chips, jello jigglers, and popcorn. After that they taught us a typical Haitian children’s ‘follow the leader’ type of dance.

Many of the group then went out to the street to play with the neighborhood kids ~ soccer, jump rope, four square, American football, duck duck goose, keep away, and others. A lot of the kids wanted to try out their English on us and we enjoyed just chatting and learning each other’s names. We all felt that we were able to connect with many of the kids and young adults. After wearing ourselves we decided to head to the hotel pool around the block to cool off. Woot – was it cold!  The water was really cold and not all managed to brave the water. We were such a big group that when we descended upon the pool we worried we were ruining the fun of the few guests that were there. But, by the time we left we had made friends with the other guests and were playing water games with them and their kids and visiting.

We had a great supper of tacos, followed by Word of the Day, and a review of our photos. We are all amazed at our tired we are by the end of day here in Haiti!  Blessings!  Kim

Word of Life: Day 1

Today, our team arrived at the guest house, many of us meeting for the very first time. It is always a little scary when a group of strangers decide to embark on a mission trip, but God quickly reminds us that this is HIS team, and HE put everyone on this team for a very specific reason. We are here to be the hands and feet of Christ and serve our Haitian friends.

Tomorrow we begin a New Year, and I am very excited to see what God has in-store for our team! We have an amazing week of serving scheduled with visits to orphanages, caring for elderly, and delivering clean, fresh water to the impoverished neighborhoods of Cite Soleil.

As I sit here in the guest house late on a Monday night, I can hear fireworks in the distance as Haitians begin their celebration of the New Year. I am grateful and truly blessed to have an opportunity to serve again in Haiti and reflect on everything God continues to teach me through these mission trips to Haiti. I never feel closer to God than when I am in Haiti.

"Lead a life worthy of your calling. For you have been called by God."
Ephesians 4:1

Final Day

Day 7

Today was our final full day in Haiti, it is hard to say goodbye to this beautiful country. Our week here has been such a blessing to have had the chance to serve and love on the people of Haiti. And to be loved on in return.  We have so many fond memories to take home with us, the faces, people and experiences we’ve had here in Haiti. The countless stories we’ve heard from people about their families, hardships, interests and dreams. This week has shown me that there is no dream or prayer too big for God to answer. 

As for our last day here, we went to church up at Grace Village. It was great to have the Creole and English translation during the service. 

After church let out we headed to Wahoo Bay for a little fun in the sun and some rest & relaxation. The water was a beautiful crystal clear blue color. We nearly had the whole beach to ourselves. The kids on our team spent almost the whole time jumping on the trampoline, while the adults swam for a bit, then watched from the shoreline.

At 3pm we headed back to guest house to pack our things to head back to the states. Praying for smooth and safe travels home tomorrow. As well as for wellness for some team members who aren’t feeling the greatest. 

Until next time,

Orevwa

~Taylor~